I am Human
by powerstaark
Summary: This is almost definately an Alternate Universe story. Oswin Oswald escapes from the Dalek Asylum and lands in Cardiff where she meets Captain Jack Harkness and Torchwood. I'm trying to fit it in with current canon. In Jack's timeline this takes place after the defeat of the Master but before Owens first death.
1. Escape to Cardiff

"Run you clever boy," Oswin Oswald said softly as the Doctor ran for his life, "and remember." She gave a small smile and sat in the seat, waiting for the Asylum to blow up. She vaguely wondered how long it would take for the planet to explode.

_Long enough to escape,_ she realised and leapt out of her seat, hurrying to her control panel. She typed rapidly, realising that there was a way for her to get out of the Asylum. If she hadn't convinced herself that the Daleks had never turned her into one of them, she could have thought of it a year ago.

"Emergency Temporal Shift," she muttered pressing one more button. The Dalek that she was trapped inside disappeared only a few seconds before the planet was blown apart.

When Oswin materialised, she found herself in the middle of a street. She turned her eyestalk and smiled as she realised that she was back on Earth.

"I never realised how precious this planet is," she murmured.

"Mummy!" said a voice and a young boy of about four appeared in her line of vision, "Look at this!"

"Timmy, get away from it," said his mother trying to tug him away from the Dalek.

"It's alright," Oswin said, "I won't hurt you." She looked down at the boy, who was staring at her with fascination.

"What kind of robot are you?" he said. Oswin hesitated; she didn't want to call herself a Dalek but it turned out she didn't have to because another voice spoke.

"The most dangerous robot you're ever likely to see." Oswin turned her eyestalk. A tall, muscular and handsome man in a long coat was standing at the other end of the street. He had a pistol in his hand and was pointing it at her, "You two get out of here," he ordered the mother and her child.

"Who are you?" said the woman.

"Captain Jack Harkness," the man replied still keeping his gun pointed at Oswin, "And if you know what's good for you you'll stay away from that Dalek."

"Come on Timmy," the mother said.

"But mummy..."

"Come on!" the mother pulled her son away.

"Why did you send them away?" Oswin snapped, "I meant them no harm."

"You're a Dalek," Jack Harkness replied with a look of hatred, "Daleks exist only to cause harm."

"I'm not a Dalek," Oswin insisted, "I'm Human. I'm just stuck inside a Dalek shell."

"I've met Humans that were turned into Dalek's before," Jack growled, "One of them killed me." Before Oswin could question him they heard another voice.

"Jack!" a pretty woman with long dark hair appeared and hurried towards the Captain.

"Stay back Gwen," Jack ordered.

"What is that thing?" Gwen said looking at Oswin.

"A Dalek," growled Jack, "These things are lethal so stay back."

"I won't hurt you," Oswin protested and moved forwards. As she did Jack pulled the trigger. Oswin flinched and drew back, even though the bullet had no effect on her Dalek casing. Jack fired again three times, "Stop!" Oswin cried, "I don't want to fight!"

"Jack calm down," Gwen insisted pulling Jack's gun down.

"This thing is dangerous," Jack growled, "We have to kill it!"

"Good luck with that," Gwen said dryly, "Those bullets didn't affect it."

"Her," Oswin told them, annoyed that they were referring to her as "it", "I'm female and I'm Human. I want to get out of this Dalek shell."

"You can't undo a Dalek conversion," Jack growled.

"You're not supposed to be able to hold on to your Humanity when you're converted either," Oswin retorted, "But in case you haven't realised, I haven't tried to kill you." Jack looked at her suspiciously.

"You didn't say 'exterminate' in that sentence," he noted, "Dalek's always use that word instead of 'kill'."

"I told you I'm not a Dalek," Oswin said, "And I refuse to believe that there's no way to undo the conversion. Please, help me."

"Jack I think we should take her back to the Hub," Gwen said.

"You don't know what Dalek's are capable of Gwen," Jack growled, "We can't risk taking it back with us."

"But she hasn't tried to harm us," Gwen insisted.

"Maybe she wants us to take her to the Hub so she can destroy it," Jack replied.

"She's just one Dalek," Gwen said.

"Dalek's can self-destruct," Jack responded.

"They can but they don't create a very big explosion when they do unless the explosion causes other Daleks to blow up too," Oswin said remembering when the Doctor had put a Dalek in reverse in the Asylum and blown up a whole group of them, "Since I'm just one..." she hesitated before she said the word, "Dalek, I won't be able to create a very big blast so unless you two share a very small bedroom or something, blowing myself up, probably wouldn't cause much damage to you or your surroundings. Plus, I'm not suicidal." Gwen blinked at her.

"Jack and I don't share a bedroom," she said.

"Why?" Oswin said, realising that there was a way to convince them that she was Human; flirt like mad, "He's gorgeous."

"I'm going to be married soon," Gwen said.

"Oh, well bad luck for you," Oswin said, "I doubt your fiancé's as good looking as this handsome hunk." She looked up and down Jack's body, "How about you take off that coat and let us have a look pretty boy?"

"Oh God," Jack groaned, "I'm being flirted with by a Dalek."

"You flirt with anything that moves," Gwen said.

"Not these things," Jack replied.

"Doesn't mean I can't hit on you though," Oswin said. Jack looked at her.

"I've never heard of a Dalek that's capable of flirting," he said thoughtfully.

"Does that convince you I'm not really a Dalek?" Oswin asked hopefully. Jack hesitated and Oswin continued, "Oh and sorry for leaving you out Gwen," she turned her eyestalk towards the woman, "You're pretty too. I'm jealous of your fiancé. Maybe the three of us should lock ourselves in a bedroom sometime and see what happens." Gwen gaped at her.

"A bisexual Dalek," Jack said in wonder, "I never thought I'd see the day, and that's saying something considering I'm immortal." He looked into Oswin's eyestalk, "Okay," he said at last, "We'll take you to the Hub. But I'm warning you that I have a weapon in there that can destroy Daleks, so don't try anything."

"I won't," Oswin promised, making a mental note to ask Jack how he could be immortal.

**In the Torchwood timeline, this story takes place before Gwen married Rhys and therefore Owen, Tosh and Ianto are all still alive.**


	2. Torchwood

"Tosh, Owen, Ianto!" Jack shouted as he and Gwen entered the Hub, followed by Oswin, "We've got a visitor!" Three people appeared, one of them a young Japanese woman, another a dark haired man and the third was a man in a suit.

"What is that?" Ianto, the man in the suit, said.

"It's a Dalek," Jack said.

"No," Oswin snapped, "I'm a Human trapped in a Dalek. There's a difference pretty boy."

"She wants us to get her out of the Dalek," Gwen said.

"Well how on earth are we supposed to do that?" Owen asked.

"I don't know, just try," Gwen said. Owen and Tosh looked at each other then shrugged.

"Okay follow us," said Tosh and led Oswin to a part of the Hub that seemed to be used as a place for healing injuries. Oswin looked at the stairs for a moment then used her Dalek's ability to levitate in order to get down them. She had never levitated before so she landed a bit harder than she'd intended to.

"Okay so how are we gonna do this?" Owen asked, "Rip its head off?"

"I'm not sure if it works like that," Jack said, "But you could give it a try." Owen went over to Oswin and yanked off her Dalek casings head. He looked inside.

A small girl with long brown hair was crouched in the Dalek casing. She was sitting as straight as she could in such a small space but her legs had the knees almost up to her chin and her arms were wrapped around them. She was naked and there were wires sticking out of various parts of her body; obviously her nudity was so that the wires could be put into her flesh. Owen had a very good view of her breasts from his position.

Oswin could see real light for the first time in a year, but when she tried to raise her head, she yelped with pain. She hadn't used her real muscles for a year so even the smallest movement was agony on her cramped body. She then remembered that Daleks could be opened from the front as well as the top. She assumed that one or perhaps more than one of the wires was connected to her brain so she thought about opening the front of her casing and at her mental command, the front of the Dalek split open.

"Why didn't you do that before I tore your head off?" Owen asked. Oswin managed a sheepish smile.

"I only realised I was a Dalek recently," she said, "I'm still learning about this casing."

"Well we're going to need to disconnect all these wires," Tosh said, "But I've never done this with a Dalek before."

"Just do your best Tosh," Jack told her and the Japanese woman nodded and started carefully pulling wires out of Oswin's body. It was hard to do with so little space, and even if Oswin could move without causing herself immense pain, the wires had to be pulled out carefully otherwise she might get killed by an electric shock. Oswin was occassionally hit by small jolts of electricity which allowed her weakened muscles to move, although the reactions were slow.

At last Tosh pulled out the last wire. Owen reached down and took hold of Oswin's hand. He tried to pull her up but Oswin cried out with agony and collapsed.

"I haven't moved in a year," she groaned. She felt helpless, almost paralyzed.

"Well you can't stay crouched in there forever," Owen said, "Besides you're the one who was so desperate to get out of that tin can."

"You're a doctor Owen," Tosh snapped at him, "Show some compassion! The poor girls been stuck in the same position for twelve months! She shouldn't be able to move at all!"

"Those wires must have kept shooting electricity and energy into my body," Oswin mumbled, "I guess that's the reason I'm not completely paralyzed." Jack stepped forwards and gently reached out and tugged Oswin slowly. Oswin grimaced in agony but slowly she managed to force her aching body to make small, jerking movements. Jack carefully put one arm under her legs and the other behind her back, before lifting her up and putting her on the table.

"Better?" Jack asked. Oswin managed a jerking movement that was supposed to be a nod, "Oh and sorry about shooting you earlier. I've had a very bad experience with Daleks in the past."

"You said one killed you," Oswin mumbled, "How can that be?"

"I'm immortal," Jack said, "I'm a fixed point in time and space so every time I die, I come back to life. My very first death was caused by a Dalek."

"A Human fixed point," Oswin said in wonder, "That's interesting." She shifted slightly and winced.

"Take is slow," Owen said, "We can shock your muscles to remind them how to move, but it will be at least a week before you regain full mobility." Oswin jerked her head in what was meant to be a nod and looked around at them all.

"Thank you," she said, "All of you."

"You're welcome," said Gwen. Oswin then realised how hungry and thirsty she was. Because of the Dalek conversion, she had been unable to starve to death while she was inside the Dalek casing since some of the wires were used to constantly pump the energy that food and water would give her through her body; in other words she was eating and drinking through her skin while she was in the Dalek. However as soon as the various wires had been pulled out of her body, she was famished.

"I'm starving," she admitted.

"I'll get you something to eat," Ianto said and hurried away up the stairs. When he returned he was carrying a ham baguette. Oswin smiled.

"Thank you," she said and tried to hold the baguette but her arms refused to move. She swore under her breath. Owen gently lifted her into a sitting position and Ianto fed the baguette to her. Oswin hated feeling so helpless, but right now her muscles had forgotten how to move and until they remembered, she was going to have to rely on her companions to help her.

"Well I suggest you just lie down and relax for a while," Owen said, "I'll give you some electrical shocks which should get your muscles moving again. Don't try and move too suddenly or they'll feel worse."

"I'll get you a pillow," said Ianto and disappeared before returning with a pink pillow. He tucked it under Oswin's head.

"By the way," Jack said with a cheeky grin, "Did I mention that you have a gorgeous body?" Oswin looked down at herself and for the first time realised that she was completely naked.

"No wonder you and Owen have been staring at me for the last seven minutes," she said, trying to hide her blush.

"Here," Ianto said giving her a white T-shirt and some blue jeans.

"Oh you just had to ruin our fun didn't you Ianto?" groaned Owen who was holding a defibrillator that would send electric shocks into Oswin's body and hopefully jolt her muscles into working again.

"Well unlike you two I'm not a pervert," Ianto snapped.

"You're good in the bedroom though," Jack winked as he spoke. Gwen rolled her eyes and Oswin giggled as Ianto put the T-shirt on her and then pulled the jeans up her legs, being careful not to feel her up as he did so. Oswin gritted her teeth, trying not to show how much being dressed hurt. Owen and Jack both stared at her legs until they were covered. Oswin looked at them and smiled.

"As soon as I'm able you can take turns with me boys," she said winking at them.

"By the way, what's your name?" asked Owen.

"Oswin Oswald, former Junior Entertainment Manager of the Alaska," Oswin said, "I don't think that ship exists in this time period so you have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"

"Actually I do," Jack said, "When I was a Time Agent I travelled on the Alaska, before it crashed into the Dalek Asylum. I wasn't on it when it was destroyed but I heard about it."

"So you can travel in time?" Oswin asked.

"I used to be able to," Jack said and held up something on his wrist, "This Vortex Manipulator doesn't work."

"Why do you keep that with you Jack?" said Owen.

"In case I can get it working again," Jack said with a shrug, "Plus it looks good."

"Speaking of good looks, you still haven't shown me what's under that coat pretty boy," Oswin said flirtatiously.

"I'll show you once you've recovered," Jack promised with a wink. He was impressed that Oswin was almost paralyzed and could still flirt with him. Jack knew that he was going to like this girl.

**Many of you might think that I got Oswin out of the Dalek too easily, but I was thinking about Daleks in Manhatten, where the Human-Dalek version of Dalek Sec was simply crouched inside the Dalek casing. Besides we've never actually been shown exactly what happens to a Human during a Dalek conversion and since Mr Diagoras (the Human Sec chose to use to turn himself into a Human-Dalek) wasn't converted in the usual way due to there already being a Dalek in the casing which swallowed his head, I'm assuming that most Humans do not get a Dalek head, especially since Sec was apparently the first Human-Dalek in existence (and probably the last too unfortunately). Dalek conversions might not be as complicated as people might think; Oswin puts it very simply by saying that one simply subtracts love and adds hate.**

**As for Oswin being naked, I doubt you can just stuff a Human into Dalek casing; sure they'd be pretty pissed about the tiny space, but not nearly enough to be screaming "exterminate" at anything that moves. The Daleks must have a way of pumping hatred into them, so I'm guessing that wires are stuck into the victim's body in order to do so (and to give them energy to stop them from dying too; they'd be no use to the Daleks if they were dead). Clothes would get in the way of the wires. Dalek Sec didn't need to use wires because he could just swallow his victims head.**


	3. New member of Torchwood

Oswin fired the gun that Jack had given her and missed the target. She cursed in frustration. Jack was watching her as she practiced using the weapon.

"Calm down Oswin," Jack said, "Getting angry will only make it harder to hit the target." He stepped forwards and pulled out his own pistol, "Try it like this," He turned slightly to the side, with his firing arm, the right one, stretched out holding the gun. His posture was straight and relaxed; confident. He fired the gun and hit the target right in the centre.

Oswin copied his posture and took a deep breath as she stared at the target. She fired. The bullet hit one of the outer circles, but at least she had actually hit it this time.

"Good," Jack said, "Just try to hold the gun steady."

"What if I was doing this to a living being?" Oswin asked.

"In this job, you've gotta get used to it," Jack said sadly, "I tell recruits that I hope they won't need this skill but the truth is we spend a lot of our time shooting things."

"Does it get easier?" Oswin asked.

"Depends on the person," Jack replied, "I've been doing this for over two centuries so it's gotten fairly easy for me. Ianto has more trouble unless you piss him off, Gwen and Owen are both pretty confident and Tosh only uses one when absolutely necessary," he smiled, "Between you and me, she's not very good at shooting." Oswin grinned.

"She's not aggressive enough," she replied.

"Do you like her?" Jack asked.

"Yes but I don't fancy her," Oswin said, "I'm bisexual and proud of it, but she's not my type. Admittedly I wasn't always proud of being bisexual but being stuck inside a Dalek for a year made me realise that I really shouldn't hide who I am. If I had, then the Daleks really would have properly converted me." She shuddered at the thought; her experience in the Dalek Asylum had affected her more than the rest of the team realised.

"You know, you have implied that you fancy me," Jack said seductively.

"Oh Captain Harkness you naughty boy," Oswin batted her eyelashes at him forgetting about the Dalek Asylum. Jack leaned down towards the small girl and tried to kiss her. Oswin shook her head and gently pushed him back turning from flirtatious to serious very quickly, "Jack flirting is one thing but actually trying to kiss me is another. You're with Ianto; it's not right." Jack stepped back looking slightly disappointed.

"You said Owen and I could take turns with you," he said. Oswin smirked.

"Break up with Ianto and that offer still stands," she said with a wink and then turned serious again, "In Owen's case it's different because he's not in a serious relationship. I like flirting but I don't have sex with people's boyfriends or girlfriends behind their backs. I know from experience how much being cheated on can hurt." She tightened her grip on her gun as she remembered when her first boyfriend, Gary, had cheated on her with a girl called Rachel. Oswin jumped as she accidentally squeezed the trigger and sent a bullet into the floor.

"You're an honourable girl Oswin," said Gwen from the doorway, "I suppose I should break up with Owen then." Oswin stared at her in shock.

"You've been cheating on your fiancé?" she said astonished and angry. Gwen looked at the floor.

"Yeah," she muttered, "I have."

"Gwen I thought you were better than that!" Oswin said angrily, "I never thought you would cheat on Rhys. Do you actually love him?"

"Yes I do," Gwen said.

"Then prove it and stop humping Owen, you cheating cow!" Oswin snapped and turned back to the target firing her gun to release her anger. Once again she failed to hit the middle of the target only hitting the outer circle.

"I don't think shooting is your thing," Jack said.

"You said I needed to learn this," Oswin replied, "I'm not going to become helpless like I was when I was trapped in that Dalek." Jack noticed that she shuddered slightly as she said that and realised that she was probably even more traumatized by the Daleks than he was.

"Oswin I think you should stop for today," he said, "You're getting upset. Besides it hasn't yet been two weeks since we got you out of the Dalek; you need more time to recover your strength."

"I'm fine," Oswin growled.

"You're traumatized," Jack said. Oswin froze but only for a moment.

"I'm over it Jack," she said.

"Oswin, I know that what happened in the Dalek Asylum was horrible," Jack said gently.

"You weren't there," Oswin muttered.

"No but I've been killed by Daleks before," Jack said.

"At least you weren't turned into one of them," Oswin replied still looking at the target but not really focussing on it.

"Look if you want to talk..." Jack began.

"Just leave it Jack!" Oswin snapped, "I can handle this on my own!"

* * *

"Oswin, Tosh!" Jack's voice sounded through the two women's headsets, "Our little alien friend has disappeared!"

"We have visual on it," Oswin replied looking at a computer screen, "It's gone into the sewers."

"Oh perfect," Owen said sarcastically, "I'm assuming you won't want to have sex after we've been through the sewers then."

"You're gross Owen," Oswin said rolling her eyes. She looked over at Tosh noticing that the Japanese woman was sending her a look of unmistakeable jealousy. Oswin responded with an apologetic expression.

The van that Oswin and Tosh were in was being driven by Ianto, while Jack, Owen and Gwen were chasing the alien. The species was unconfirmed and Gwen had only caught a brief glimpse of a creature that looked like a green skinned reptile. Jack suspected it was a Silurian but he wasn't sure.

"Alright we're going in," said Jack and their dots on the computer map stayed in the same place as they climbed into the sewers.

* * *

Jack shone his torch around the sewer walls, looking for the lizard. Gwen and Owen moved behind him, each of them also holding a torch and a gun.

"If it is a Silurian, don't let it sting you with its venom," Jack warned them then heard a sound. A tongue shot out of the darkness. Using his swift reflexes, Jack dodged the tongue and Owen fired at the creature who disappeared down a side tunnel, "Yeah I'm sure that's a Silurian," Jack said as he hurried after the lizard.

As soon as he turned the corner the Silurian fired a blaster at him. Jack cried out with pain and collapsed into the filthy sewer water. Owen appeared in his place and then ducked behind the wall as the Silurian fired again. It hissed savagely then dodged as Gwen aimed her gun around the corner and fired. The Silurian disarmed Gwen by knocking the gun out of her hands with its tongue. Gwen dodged behind the wall before the Silurian could poison her. Owen took her place firing three times but the Silurian was fast and dodged all three bullets before trying to disarm Owen just like it had with Gwen. Owen dodged back behind the wall.

Then Jack stood up, soaking and filthy from the sewer. The Silurian stared at him in shock as the immortal man aimed his gun and shot it right between the eyes. The Silurian collapsed, dead before it splashed into the filthy water.

"Nice shot Jack, as always," Gwen complimented him.

"Thanks," Jack grunted, "Come on let's go; that Silurian won't be eating Humans ever again."

* * *

"Ewww you three stink," Oswin said as the team returned from their time in the sewers.

"Nice to see you too," Owen said winking at her flirtatiously. Oswin saw Tosh glaring at her out of the corner of her eye.

"If you think I'm going to sleep with you when you smell like that, you've got another thing coming," Oswin said.

"Like what," Owen asked.

"Like a kick in the balls," Oswin said and Jack, Gwen and Ianto snorted.

"I'm glad you became part of the team Oswin," Jack said.

"Well I'm surrounded by hot people so I'm glad too," Oswin said. The team dispersed and went to do different jobs but Tosh stayed behind. Oswin looked at her, waiting for her to speak.

"I wish you would stop flirting with Owen," Tosh muttered.

"I'm a flirt," Oswin said, "Its, part of who I am."

"Well why don't you just focus on flirting with the others?" Tosh said.

"Because Owen is a handsome man," Oswin said, "You don't mind that Jack is constantly flirting with people."

"That's because Jack has never shown any interest in Owen," Tosh replied.

"Look Tosh," Oswin said, "If you like Owen, you need to make a move. Otherwise another woman, possibly me, is going to take him away, and that's assuming he doesn't get killed on a mission or pulled into the Rift. I don't think Owen even realises you have feelings for him." Tosh hesitated.

"What have I got to offer him?" she muttered. Oswin stared at her.

"Do you really have so little faith in yourself?" she asked, "You're attractive, intelligent, brave and strong. You're only problem is your insecurity."

"He likes you though," Tosh said.

"Owen likes loads of women," Oswin pointed out, "He's slept with Gwen before. Don't you worry that he might cheat on you?"

"No," Tosh said, "but I worry that he might break up with me."

"People break up all the time," Oswin said, "I broke up with my girlfriend Nina and then I started dating men instead. Never actually been in bed with a woman, but I've been doing it with men for quite a few years."

"That's a bit too much information thank you," Tosh said looking uncomfortable. Oswin chuckled and then turned serious.

"Look you and Owen could have something special," she said, "You should just tell him how you feel; life's too short." Tosh nodded.

"I suppose you're right," she said, "But I need to think how to tell him first." Oswin shrugged.

"You can do that," she said, "But if you hesitate for too long you'll regret it." She walked away.

**As you can see, I'm trying to show a more mature side of Oswin in this chapter. For all her flirting, I don't think she's the kind of girl who would have an affair; she's too selfless for that. Also I want her to teach some lessons to the members of Torchwood, such as Gwen who had an affair with Owen and Tosh who only told Owen how she felt about him after Jack used the Resurrection Gauntlet to bring him back from the dead. By the way, this takes place before Owen's first death so he's fully alive and kicking (or more likely shagging knowing him) at the moment.**

**Please review.**


	4. Falling into the Rift

A couple of weeks later, Oswin, Owen, Gwen and Ianto were listening to one of Jack's many stories in a bar. Having decided that they deserved some time off, Jack had invited them all out for a drink. Tosh hadn't been feeling well so she stayed at home.

"And so I sent the space ambulance into space, hoping that a Time Agent would catch up with it," Jack said, sipping his beer and grinning at the others, "Then this big blue police box came along and landed on the planet. I met a girl called Rose Tyler and we had a romantic evening together. Then we went to see the Doctor, who I called Mr Spock, and..."

"Wait," Oswin put down her drink and leaned forwards, "Did you say the Doctor?" Jack glanced at her.

"Yeah," he said, "Anyway..."

"You mean the Doctor who travels through Time and Space?" Oswin interrupted again. Jack looked at her again then put down his beer.

"Have you met him?" he said his cheerful demeanour being replaced by curiosity.

"Once," Oswin said, "Just before I met you guys actually."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Jack said.

"How was I to know that you knew who he was?" Oswin said.

"She's got a point Jack," Gwen said, "You don't say much about your past and when you do talk about it we can't be sure if you're being truthful."

"I like being mysterious," Jack said, shrugging then looked back at Oswin, "I think that this could be an interesting story. Although I know that you're still upset about being turned into a Dalek so, if you don't want to tell it, we'll all understand."

"I'll tell you," Oswin said, "But finish your story first."

"Okay," Jack leaned back, picked up his beer and continued the story of how he had first met the Doctor, "Anyway as I was saying, we found a hospital ward full of people in gas masks. They were transformed by these microscopic robots called nanomites which are supposed to be for healing but they sort of screwed up because they turned people into weird gas mask creatures that kept saying 'are you my mummy?'" Ianto laughed. Oswin remembered the nanomites on the Dalek Asylum planet and shuddered slightly as she remembered what they were programmed to do. None of the others noticed; they were too busy listening to Jack's story. "The Doctor told them to go to their rooms and they backed off," Jack said.

"Just like that?" Owen said sceptically.

"Yeah, just like that," Jack said looking completely sincere, "He literally said 'go to your room' and all the gas mask zombies retreated. Anyway we found the cause of the problem which was the space ambulance. And I swear I didn't know that the space ambulance was the cause of all the trouble until the Doctor told me so," he added when Gwen glared at him, "Anyway the nanomites had never seen a Human before and the first one they found was a four year old boy who'd nearly been blown apart by a bomb and was wearing a gas mask. They tried to heal him but turned him into that creepy zombie creature instead. Fortunately his mummy was still alive, although she was a naughty girl because she was pretending to be his older sister."

"How old was she?" asked Gwen. Jack shrugged.

"She looked like she was in her teens, but I guess she was actually in her early twenties," he replied, "The nanomites are smart little robots; they realised that the kids mother had the same DNA and figured out that he was her offspring so they converted him back into an ordinary little boy. Then I used my ship to catch a bomb that was about to fall on the Doctor and Rose, flew away, got ready to be a good Captain who goes down with his ship, and in the end decided screw the ship when the Doctor and Rose arrived in the TARDIS, which is the big blue police box I mentioned earlier. And that's how I met and began travelling with the last of the Time Lords." Jack gulped down the rest of his drink as he finished then grinned at Oswin, "Your turn."

Oswin told the group the story of how she'd been captured and converted in the Dalek Asylum. The rest of the team knew that she had teleported from the Asylum, but Oswin had never gone into great detail.

"There were nanomites on the Dalek planet," Oswin said, "But they weren't as friendly as the ones you encountered Jack. They were programmed to transform anything into a Dalek, even corpses. I guess it made it easier for the Daleks to convert me."

"You still fought off their programming though," Owen reminded her.

"Yeah I did," Oswin said with a hint of pride, "The Dalek's underestimated me. It wasn't easy, but I managed to convince myself that I was still a Human being. After that I started messing with the Dalek technology making it into cameras, using it to open and close doors, stuff like that. I even managed to use it to change my voice into that of a Human when speaking to the Doctor and his friends. I did that to help me maintain the illusion that I'd never been turned into a Dalek. I think the Daleks decided to blow up the Asylum because they realised that I could be a threat to them. They were worried that I could release all the crazy Daleks into the Universe. Not that I was planning to," she added hastily, "Anyway I was stuck there for a year in a special ward, for the craziest of the crazy Daleks. After all a Dalek who thinks they're a Human is the highest point of insanity, as far as those pepper pots are concerned. Then the Doctor arrived," Oswin smiled at the memory, "he was my first contact with people outside the Asylum."

"What was he like?" Jack asked. Oswin looked at him oddly.

"You know him," she said, "Unless the whole of your story was a lie."

"The Doctor's a Time Lord," Jack said, unfazed by her accusation, "When he's dying he regenerates, so he changes his body and, to a lesser extent, his personality. I'm guessing that the Doctor you met was a different incarnation from the ones I've met."

"Well he was tall and thin and he was wearing a tweed jacket and a bow tie," Oswin said, "Had dark hair and a massive chin, so I started calling him 'Chinboy'."

"Not an incarnation I know then," Jack said sadly, "That's too bad. Anyway keep going Oswin."

"Well he had two friends, Rory and I think the woman was called Amy," Oswin continued then looked at Owen, "You'd like her Owen; she was gorgeous. Anyway I guided them around the Asylum and got them to a teleport. I asked the Doctor to come and get me; I didn't trust him not to leave without me. I wanted him to show me the universe; that's why I joined the Alaska in the first place. I wanted to see the stars up close."

"Eh, the stars are just big balls of burning gas," Jack said dismissively then turned serious as he added, "The Doctor wouldn't leave without you, unless you told him to and even then he'd be reluctant. He loves life and he cares about the lives of others, even if they're evil. I've actually seen him clutching the dead body of his arch enemy and crying over it."

"Who's his arch enemy?" asked Ianto.

"Another Time Lord called the Master," Jack said, not mentioning the fact that the Master was actually Harold Saxon, who had disappeared a few months earlier, "But I'll tell you that story another time," he looked back at Oswin, waiting for her to continue.

"Obviously I'd never met the Doctor before, which is why I wasn't sure if he would wait for me," Oswin said, "It was touching that he cared about me; even when he saw that I was a Dalek, he was hesitant to leave me behind. Of course he was the one who told me what the Daleks had really done to me. It was a horrible shock," she swallowed and her expression became slightly haunted, "All that time, I could have removed the force field around the Asylum and used Emergency Temporal Shift to escape but I deluded myself into thinking I was Human. I refused to believe that I was one of those monsters; I think I actually did drive myself a bit mad while I was there. Realising that I was a Dalek was the worst moment of my life." Owen put an arm around her shoulders until she regained control of her emotions and then removed it when she shrugged him off. "Anyway, I told the Doctor to run so he fled back to the teleport and he, Amy and Rory used it to escape from the planet before the Daleks blew it up. Then I used an Emergency Temporal Shift to come here."

"So you wanted him to show you the stars," Gwen said. Oswin nodded.

"Yeah," she said, "I still do want to see the stars but I've grown attached to you guys."

"Well the Doctor comes to Earth every now and again," Jack said, "Only rarely but when he does come it's worth the wait."

"But how long do we have to wait?" asked Oswin. Jack shrugged.

"Maybe centuries," he said, "He could be anywhere in Time and Space, plus Time Lords have an extremely long lifespan."

"Is it longer than yours?" Owen asked. Jack smiled.

"I doubt it," he said.

Suddenly Oswin's phone rang. She picked it up and heard Tosh on the other end.

"Oswin," said Tosh, "The Rift's going crazy at the moment."

"I thought you were resting at home," Oswin said.

"I'm still at home," Tosh said, "Doesn't mean I can't keep an eye on the Rift though. I think you guys should see what's going on." Oswin nodded.

"Thanks Tosh," she said and turned off the phone. She looked at the others, "According to Tosh the Rift's acting violently at the moment. We should check it out." Jack nodded and stood up swiftly. The others did the same. Jack tossed some cash at the bartender as the group hurried out.

Ianto drove them back to outside the Hub where a massive creature was coming through the Rift. Tentacles of varying lengths and thickness were sticking out of its body in random places, as though they had been clumsily stuck on by a very bad artist. It had a massive mouth filled with rows of sharp teeth and although it didn't seem to have an actual nose, it did have two nostrils right above its mouth. Its eyes were small and set on small lumps of skin on both sides of its huge jaws.

"Great!" Jack said, "A Levanaxus!" He whipped out his pistol as the huge creature turned towards them, "Spread out!" Jack ordered, "We need to drive it back into the Rift before it closes." The Levanaxus lashed out a huge tentacle. Jack dodged it and fired his gun into its face. The Levanaxus had very tough skin and although it drew back in pain, the bullet failed to kill it. It used several of its tentacles to pull itself towards them, wincing each time it was hit by the shots that the Torchwood Team fired towards it. Despite the obvious discomfort they were causing, the bullets only drew blood if they landed twice in the exact same spot, which Oswin noticed when Jack fired two bullets straight between its nostrils. Oswin guessed it would take at least three very accurate shots to actually cause proper damage to the creature. She tried firing straight into its mouth, aiming for the back of the throat, but the Levanaxus was smarter than it looked and closed its jaws to stop the bullets from going into them.

"Feel this!" Owen roared grabbing a grenade from somewhere about his person.

"You carry bombs around with you?" Oswin yelled at him.

"Sometimes guns don't cut it," Owen grunted and threw the grenade. The Levanaxus drew back warily and the grenade exploded, blasting the large creature back towards the Rift. As it got closer the Rift started to close but at the same time it exerted a powerful pull on the beast. The Levanaxus struggled ferociously but the Rift was too powerful.

"The Rift doesn't have a mind of its own does it?" Oswin asked.

"Unlikely," Jack said, "But considering how volatile it is, it could be some kind of living entity. But it's linked to pretty much any part of the Universe so I doubt it." As he spoke the Levanaxus lashed out a tentacle which coiled around Oswin's right leg. She screamed as she was yanked off her feet.

"Oswin!" Owen yelled and grabbed her arm trying to tug her away from the creature, but the Levanaxus roared angrily and tightened its grip. It seemed that the Rift was doing the same because as she got closer, Oswin felt it tugging on her as though it was determined to suck her inside along with the Levanaxus.

"Owen let go!" she screamed, "You'll get pulled in with me!"

"No bloody way!" Owen yelled and Jack darted forwards to help. Gwen and Ianto tried to force the creature to release Oswin's leg by firing bullets at its tentacle. The Levanaxus lashed out with another tentacle and grabbed Oswin's other leg before whipping forth a third tentacle and smashed Ianto across the face so hard that he was unconscious before he hit the ground. Gwen knelt beside him and then fired again, narrowly missing Oswin as she tried to shoot the two tentacles wrapped around the younger woman's legs.

"Jack, Owen let go!" Oswin cried, "Earth needs you!"

"It needs you too!" Owen insisted.

"I'm flattered," Oswin said, "But you were getting on fine without me. And Tosh needs you Owen." Owen blinked in surprise and Oswin smiled, "You didn't know..." she said. And then the Levanaxus and the Rift gave another heave and Owen lost his grip. Jack was still holding Oswin's other hand but his fingers were slipping. "Maybe I'll finally get to see the stars!" Oswin called over the screaming of the Levanaxus, "It's been a pleasure working with you all!" Her hand slipped from Jack's grasp.

"Oswin no!" the immortal man yelled as Oswin Oswald was pulled away into the Rift.

**Please review. I didn't get a single one in my last chapter which I have to say was rather disappointing. **


	5. Waiting for the Doctor

Oswin landed hard in the middle of a street. The Levanaxus' tentacles were still tight around her ankles and another reached out and wrapped around her neck. The young woman struggled and fought as it started to choke her.

Suddenly there was a flash of steel and the Levanaxus shrieked with pain. The next thing Oswin knew she was lying in the road as two of the creature's tentacles were severed. She looked up at her saviour and saw a tall woman in a veil, holding two swords. The Levanaxus lashed out but with great precision, the woman sliced through two more tentacles before they could touch her. She darted forwards. The Levanaxus lunged, showing rows of dagger sharp teeth, but the woman jumped and landed on one of the creature's largest tentacles on the place where it joined the body. With another bound she was on its head. The Levanaxus roared and tried to throw off its attacker but the woman stabbed both of her swords straight down into its brain. The Levanaxus died screaming.

Oswin stared, amazed at the woman's strength; bullets had hardly bothered the Levanaxus and it had survived being blasted by a grenade but the mysterious warrior had just slain it with two fairly primitive weapons and cut through its hard hide as though it was soft butter. Oswin guessed that the impact from the grenade's explosion must have softened its hide slightly and when she looked closer she realised that bits of flesh had been stripped away by the explosion.

The woman jumped off of the dead creatures back and stepped towards Oswin.

"Are you alright?" she said. Oswin tried to see through the veil but it was night time which made it hard to see. She nodded.

"Yes," she said although her throat and ankles were still sore, "Thank you," she struggled to her feet and looked around, "This is Victorian times isn't it?"

"Indeed," the woman nodded, "And where are you from?"

"Twentieth century," Oswin said, "Well that's where I was before I was pulled into the Rift anyway. The Levanaxus obviously wanted me as a snack."

"You're lucky you turned up here," the woman said, "The Rift could have taken you to a far worse place. What's your name?"

"Oswin Oswald" Oswin responded.

"I am Madam Vastra," the woman replied lifting her veil. Oswin stepped back reaching for the place where her gun had been as she recognised the species. She looked down and saw that her gun wasn't there. She must have lost it when she was fighting the Levanaxus, "It's alright dear. I mean you no harm. I'm not like other Silurian's."

"Since when have Silurian's called a Human 'dear'?" Oswin asked.

"Since an old friend convinced me that Humans are not the evil apes I used to think they were," Vastra said as she put the veil back over her face. "Come, I will take you to my home; you can't be living out on the streets," she turned and walked away towards a cab pulled by a horse. Oswin hesitated then looked around, wondering if the Rift was still open. There was no light or anything that indicated the Rift was doing anything right now so she decided to follow the Silurian.

* * *

The Silurian woman lived in an ordinary Victorian house with nothing that would imply she wasn't Human. She had a display rack for her swords and tossed her cloak onto a coat hanger. Oswin stepped into the house looking at the Silurian's scaly head. She hadn't actually seen a real Silurian before, since she hadn't been with Jack, Owen and Gwen when they killed the one in the Cardiff sewers, but she knew that they were not the kind of species one would want to mess with. She looked at the swords then back at Vastra who turned to her and noticed her demeanour.

"Why are you so nervous dear?" Vastra asked kindly, "I saved your life."

"Sorry," Oswin said, "It's just that in my time, Silurian's aren't as friendly as you."

"An unfortunate thing about my species," Vastra sighed, "Many of them hate apes," she looked at Oswin and corrected herself, "I'm sorry I mean Humans." The two women looked at each other for a moment and then Vastra spoke again, "Jenny should be making dinner right now. I'll tell her we have a guest."

"Thanks," Oswin said as the Silurian walked away.

Oswin spent the next few minutes wandering around the bottom floor of the house. She was examining a painting of Queen Victoria when a black haired woman in a maid's uniform appeared.

"Hello miss," she said politely.

"Hi," Oswin said, "You must be Jenny. I'm Oswin."

"Pleased to meet you," Jenny said with a smile, "Madam Vastra wanted me to tell you that dinner's ready, and to introduce myself of course. I'm her maid."

"Well you're obviously a very good maid," Oswin said looking around the house, "This place is beautiful."

"You're too kind miss," Jenny said.

"Call me Oswin," Oswin said smiling at the other woman and then following her to the dining hall where her Silurian host was waiting.

* * *

A few days later, while Oswin, Vastra and Jenny were travelling in Vastra's cab, Oswin saw a familiar man in a long coat.

"Hey I know him," she said excitedly, "That's Jack Harkness. Jack! Jack!" Jack glanced up at her and his eyes lit up when he saw her but then narrowed suspiciously a moment later. Oswin knew what Jack was like around beautiful people, male or female which, explained why his eyes had lit up when he looked at her, but she then realised that, although he was attracted to her instantly, he didn't recognise her.

"You're hot but I don't think we've met before," he said as Vastra told the driver to stop the cab so that Oswin could speak to the immortal man, "Unless you're someone I slept with while I was drunk."

"Oh right," Oswin realised, "You haven't met me in your timeline yet. Well I just want you to know that we'll be friends in the future, although you'll try to shoot me when we first meet."

"Why would I do that?" Jack asked.

"You'll see," Oswin said and winked, "Nice seeing you again Captain Jack Harkness." She sat back in her seat and nodded to Vastra who told the cab driver to keep going.

"Wait!" Jack called after her, "Who are you?"

"That would be telling wouldn't it, pretty boy!" Oswin called back as the horse pulled the cab around the corner and Jack disappeared from view.

* * *

Oswin blocked a blow from Jenny and stumbled back as the Victorian woman swung again, stopping the sharp blade of her sword inches from Oswin's throat. Vastra watched from the side of the small hall that served as her training area. Normally the room would be used for dancing but Vastra and Jenny were not particularly fond of dancing so they used it to practice their sword skills instead.

"You've never used a sword before have you Oswin?" the Silurian said.

"Is it that obvious?" Oswin asked as Jenny slid her sword back into its sheath. Vastra drew one of her own swords.

"Let me show you," she said, "Left foot forward," Oswin did as the Silurian told her, "You're motions should be fluid," Vastra said, spinning her sword, "Think of the weapon as part of you, like a sting on a wasp," she spun around and Oswin flinched instinctively but just as Jenny had done, Vastra stopped the strike a few inches from her neck, "Trust your senses. Know who and what is around you," The Silurian spun around as Jenny darted towards her, drawing her sword and slashing at her mistress. Vastra blocked the blow easily, turned sideways and got close to her maid before kicking Jenny's legs out from under her and pointed her sword at her chest. She looked back at Oswin, "If you fall, chances are you're going to die," she said before stepping back and allowing Jenny to get to her feet, "You're still not fast enough dear," she said to her maid.

"Sorry ma'am," Jenny said and Vastra grinned.

"Oh I think you can make it up to me tonight," she said with a wink then turned back to Oswin, "Try this," she twirled her sword in a fairly simple move. Oswin studied her posture and copied the Silurian's stance and spun the sword once. It felt heavy and certainly did not seem to be part of her, but she completed the move successfully. "Good," Vastra said then lunged. Oswin barely managed to block the blow and the Silurian drew back, "You have good reflexes," she commented, "With more training you could become a talented, swordswoman."

"Thank you ma'am," Oswin said and spun the sword again before lunging forwards, attempting to use the same stabbing move that Vastra had just shown her. The Silurian flicked her wrist casually and Oswin's sword slid to the side.

"How about you stand to the side and Jenny and I will do some sparring," she suggested, "Watch our movements and posture." Oswin nodded and went to the side of the room, feeling relieved at being able to put down the heavy sword.

When Vastra and Jenny sparred they were much faster, more graceful and used more confusing and unpredictable moves. Oswin had known that the two more experienced swordswomen had been going easy on her but it was only when they started their match that she realised how much she still had to learn.

* * *

A couple of months later, Oswin swung her sword and sliced a thief's pistol in half just before the man could shoot her. Suddenly, Vastra appeared beside her and stung him with her poisonous tongue, although she didn't use a lethal amount of venom. Vastra grinned at Oswin.

"I taught you well, if I do say so myself," she said.

"Yeah, thanks for showing me how to use this thing," Oswin said looking fondly at her sword. The two women looked down at the thief they had incapacitated, "You're not going to eat him are you?"

"No," Vastra said, "He's not like Jack the Ripper so I won't kill him. You hand him over to the authorities and I'll take down his associates."

"No problem," Oswin said confidently.

As Oswin handed the thief over to the authorities, she heard a strange groaning sound. It seemed to be coming from an alley. She hurried towards it and watched as a blue police box appeared. Oswin remembered that Jack had mentioned the Doctor travelled in a big blue police box. Just in case though, she put a hand on her sword as the doors opened. A familiar man with a tall, thin frame and a large chin appeared. The man looked at her without recognition, which was understandable since he had never seen Oswin's Human body the last time they met, but Oswin recognised him instantly.

"Doctor..." she whispered and a smile spread across her face. She wanted to run forwards and hug the Time Lord but resisted the urge; the Doctor had no idea who she was. He strode past her, without even glancing at her. Oswin noticed that his posture was slumped and miserable, far more so than it had been when they met in the Asylum, even when he had seen that she was a Dalek. He looked like a man who had recently suffered a terrible loss. Oswin hesitated, unsure of how to approach the clearly miserable Time Lord. The Doctor turned the corner and disappeared from sight, leaving Oswin standing in the alley with the TARDIS parked right behind her.

"You haven't shown me the stars yet Chinboy," Oswin muttered and hurried out of the alley after the Time Lord.

Now that the Doctor was here, Oswin finally had a chance to live her dream.

**I decided to write this story because the agonisingly long wait for the Christmas Special is killing me. Steven Moffat probably has a different plan to bring Jenna-Louise Coleman (in case any of you don't know, she's the actress who plays Oswin) back into Doctor Who. I don't even know for sure if Jenna will be playing the same character. I expect we'll find out in the prequel on Friday.**


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